Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I'm inching closer to a bodyweight overhead squat, but I'm still struggling with my balance. My lower body's positioned properly now, but I'm still having difficulty keeping my chest and head up the entire time. I had to dump the barbell a few times as the weights increased (though weirdly enough, after throwing even more plates on, I was able to successfully squat a heavier bar).

Metcon:

"Helen" -- 3 rounds for time:

400-meter run

21 overhead kettlebell swings (using a 53-pound kettlebell)

12 pull-ups

Helen ain't no joke. When we did Helen back in October, I finished in 11:25, mostly due to the fact that I tried to conserve energy during the running portions of the WOD. I also allowed myself brief breaks to catch my breath between the swings and the pull-ups. Today, I was determined to go balls-out, taking no breaks if at all possible, and see if I could crush my previous time. "Rest later," I kept telling myself. "This'll be over soon."

And it was. A lot sooner than the last time around, anyway.

Result: 9:59 -- almost a minute and a half faster than my previous attempt.

In retrospect, I probably could/should have run even faster (especially during the first round), and I wasn't happy about losing my grip on the pull-up bar three times during the final round (my hands and forearms were burning, and I'm a wuss), but otherwise, I kept the pedal to the metal. I know I'm not exactly setting the world on fire (like some people) with my Helen time, but if we had a Sub-10 Club at our box, I'd actually qualify (albeit by the skin of my teeth)!